A Brighter Future

11:10 a.m.

Delivering the Clean Energy Economy

The Honorable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Government of Canada

Alexandra Palt, Chief Sustainability Officer, L’Oreal

Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd

Driving Climate Action Further, Faster

Introduced by Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic Leader

Michael Bloomberg, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Action, Founder, Bloomberg Philanthropies and 108th Mayor of New York City

Thriving Planet — A New Hope for the Next Generation

Harrison Ford, Vice-Chair, Conservation International

The Power of Youth to Make Change

Aamito Lagum, Fashion Model, Entrepreneur, and Activist

Bernice Dapaah, Founder and CEO, Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative

Risalat Khan, Global Campaigner, Avaaz Foundation

Musical Finish

Rocky Dawuni, Musician and Humanitarian Activist

12:00 p.m.

LUNCH

High-Level Thematic Dialogues

These high-level dialogues will focus on the Summit’s five thematic “Challenge Areas” reflecting on the key building blocks required to peak global emissions by 2020 and achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century. Challenging people, communities, societies, and economies around the world to ‘step up,’ these sessions will highlight the past achievements and new commitments of leading actors across five key issue areas: Healthy Energy Systems, Inclusive Economic Growth, Sustainable Communities, Land and Ocean Stewardship, and Transformative Climate Investments

1:30 – 2:30 p.m.

Healthy Energy Systems — Our Clean and Renewable Future

To beat climate change, the world is racing toward a future where energy is clean and 100 percent renewable. Technological advances mean that renewable energy now costs the same as fossil fuels – and in many cases is cheaper. Demand for clean energy is growing fast as states and regions, cities and businesses move to deploy solar, wind, storage and smart grids, and every trend points toward a healthier, carbon-pollution free future. In this session, mayors, governors, executives and activists will speak and make new announcements about this clean energy revolution.

The Honorable Verónica Geese, Secretary of State for Energy, Government of the Province of Santa Fe, Argentina

Kahori Miyake, Executive Officer, AEON

Erica Mackie, Co-founder & CEO, Grid Alternatives

Mayor Nanda Jichkar, Nagpur Municipal Corporation, India

Announcement

Pierre Ramadier, Senior Executive Vice President and Group Head, Wealth Management, Bank of the West

Citizens Calling For 100% Renewables

Wael Hmaidan, CEO, CAN International

Closing Remarks

Helen Clarkson, CEO, The Climate Group

Businesses Stepping Up with Science-Based Targets

In January 2018, Anand Mahindra, Chairman of the Mahindra Group, issued a challenge to increase the number of companies around the world that commit to reduce their carbon pollution in alignment with science. Known as “Science-Based Targets,” these commitments inform management decisions to protect both future growth and a climate-safe future. In this myth-busting session, executives from a diverse array of global companies that are committing to this rigorous approach will offer a blueprint for how they are tackling stringent emission reduction targets while improving their market competitiveness.

1:30 – 1:45 p.m.

Cities matter. Although just 2 percent of the global land area, they consume over two-thirds of the world’s energy and account for more than 70 percent of carbon pollution. Join mayors from around the world as they take the stage to pledge that their cities will develop inclusive climate action plans by the end of 2020 to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Welcome: Introducing Deadline 2020

Mark Watts, Executive Director, C40

Video: “We All Live Here Together”

Cities Leading the Way by Committing to Ambitious Action

Executive Mayor Patricia de Lille, Cape Town

Deadline 2020: Signing Ceremony

The Deadline 2020 Mayors

1:45 – 2:40 p.m.

Green and Healthy Streets: Transitioning to Zero Emission Transport

How we get from point A to B is changing at light speed. Mayors and civic leaders continue to expand public transportation systems and are working to ensure that these systems are pollution-free. As a complement to cleaner transit systems, cities are investing in bike infrastructure and walkability, building developments that are convenient to public transit and adapting to the new innovations including ride and bike sharing and autonomous vehicles. Many mayors are so confident in these rapidly evolving trends that they are pledging to make whole city districts carbon-free transportation zones by 2030. Join these global mayors, technical experts and private sector executives to learn how city leaders are planning to make whole city districts carbon-free by 2030, and how transportation innovation is changing mobility and improving health and economic outcomes around the globe.

1:00 – 1:30 p.m.

Food, Forests, Climate! A Special Taping of Here’s the Thing! with Alec Baldwin

Through his “Here’s the Thing” podcast, award-winning actor Alec Baldwin gives his listeners unique entrée into the lives of artists, policy makers and performers. Alec sidesteps the predictable by taking listeners inside the dressing rooms, apartments and offices of extraordinary people from all areas of life. Alec pursues great conversations in unexpected places to find out what motivates his guests, how they feel about what they do and what keeps them up at night. In this live-to-tape episode, Alec explores the importance of forests and food to winning the fight against climate change.

1:30 – 2:30 p.m.

What We Eat and How It’s Grown: Food Systems and Climate

What people eat and how it is produced is a key piece of the climate solution; one-third of global emissions come from food production. More than one-third of the food produced globally every year is also wasted, even as people go hungry. Fortunately, there are many efforts underway to reduce emissions from farm to fork and beyond. In this session, join the farmers, producers, chefs, businesses and experts improving production, challenging us to eat better, reducing organic waste by diverting it to end uses like compost and changing the global food system for the better.

The Investor Agenda: Accelerating Action for a Low-Carbon World

Smart investors recognize both the economic risks of climate change and the opportunities presented by investing in climate action. The Investor Agenda is a comprehensive agenda for investors to manage climate risks and capture carbon-free opportunities, and a mechanism to report on their progress in four key focus areas: Investment, Corporate Engagement, Investor Disclosure and Policy Advocacy. In this session, investors will highlight the importance of The Investor Agenda and discuss actions, such as increasing investments in clean energy and phasing out investments in fossil fuels, that they are taking to achieve a carbon-pollution free world.

2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

The Zero Emission Transportation Revolution

The future of transportation is zero carbon – and demand is steadily accelerating for fully electric and hydrogen vehicles. Utilities and businesses are increasingly installing infrastructure for drivers to charge or refuel these pollution-free vehicles at home, at work and on the go. In this session, hear from the cities, states and regions, utilities and companies that have answered the “ZEV Challenge”– pledging to use their purchasing power and policy influence to accelerate the zero-emission vehicle future.

Welcome

Mary Nichols, Chair, California Air Resources Board

Scene-Setter: Our Rapidly Evolving Transportation Landscape

President Stefano Bonaccini, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Market Shift: Demand for Zero Emission Vehicles to Hit the Road

Moderator: Mary Nichols, Chair, California Air Resources Board

Panelists: Jesper Brodin, President and CEO, IKEA Group

The Honorable Paul Wheelhouse, Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands, Scotland

Ryan Popple, President and CEO, Proterra

Leanne Enoch, Minister for Environment and the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland

Creating a Just Transition: Decent Jobs and Climate Action

Workers, management and investors all have a stake in providing a livable, healthy environment for their children and future generations. As the economy shifts decisively toward healthier, cleaner sources of energy, a commensurate, equitable transition must be managed for workers and communities to ensure that climate action creates new, decent jobs. Around the world, workers and labor organizations have stepped up to the challenge. This session brings together labor leaders, CEOs and government leaders who have been working together to achieve a more fully inclusive transition to a climate-safe future.

Robbie Hunter, President, State Building & Construction Trades Council of California

Closing Remarks

Thomas Bareiß, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Germany

Talking Trash: A Future Without Waste

One billion tons: That is how much waste piles up in landfills every year. Embodied in that waste are the emissions spent to create the products, as well as the additional emissions — of methane and other super-pollutants — that are released when the products are thrown away. A climate-safe future is one without garbage where all materials are recycled back into production. In this session, join the government leaders who are driving toward a zero-waste future to discuss their efforts to reduce and recycle waste, and to hear how such programs are strengthening communities, enhancing food security and improving local air quality.

Damià Calvet i Valera, Minister of Territory and Sustainability, Government of Catalonia

Mayor Mukta Tilak, Pune Municipal Corporation

Grounded: Locking up Carbon with Restoration and Conservation

Across all different land types — from prairies to tropical forests, mangroves to savannas — environmental destruction has caused carbon to be released. Restoring, conserving and better managing these natural places are crucial steps to storing carbon back in the land while improving local economies and strengthening communities. Join global political leaders, technical experts and CEOs as they discuss the nature-based solutions they are implementing today. Hear their perspectives on how creative partnerships for conservation and restoration can unlock a gigaton of carbon sequestration per year while improving ecosystem health and resiliency.

Matt Rodriquez, Secretary for Environmental Protection, State of California

Governor David Ige, The State of Hawaii

Healthy Soils: Regenerative Grazing and Sequestering Carbon

Kat Taylor, CEO and Co-Founder, Beneficial State Bank

Financing Restoration and Conservation

Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson, Global Environment Facility

Local Climate Solutions: Financing the Transition

Local governments are on the front lines of climate change. Cities alone account for over 70 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions and they, along with states and regions, serve as the first line of defense against climate impacts. Moreover, local leaders can be powerful allies to national governments seeking to deliver more ambitious and effective climate action. Yet turning bold plans into reality requires innovative financing solutions that concretely address the constraints faced by subnational governments, especially those in rapidly urbanizing, emerging markets. Join investors, leading public and private financial institutions, and elected officials working to turn plans into action. The first panel highlights new efforts to drive vertical integration, mainstream climate change and enhance partnerships at the local and international levels on scaling finance flows. The second panel features pioneering local technical capacity building and financing solutions through green bonds and other innovative programs and financing approaches.

4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

The Next Frontier in Energy Transitions

Heavy industry and transport represent some of the largest global emissions sources, with industry alone responsible for more than a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions. Despite facing this daunting reality, companies in some of the highest-emission sectors — iron, steel, cement, concrete and plastics — are taking bold steps to stop climate change. In this session, leaders from heavy industry and transport will discuss how they plan to deal with the economics of reducing their emissions by finding efficiencies across their operations, investing in renewable energy and developing and implementing innovative new technologies. This session will show that there are no excuses for anything less than accelerated, ambitious action toward decarbonization.

Technology has the power to help ensure we reach a climate turning point by 2020. Advances in computing and information technologies have already fundamentally changed how we gather, store and use information and how we communicate. This revolution is also profoundly impacting the transition to a fossil fuel free economy by enabling exponential decarbonization across all sectors. In this session, meet CEOs, entrepreneurs and coders pulling the future into the present. The speakers will redouble their own commitments to climate action and highlight nascent products right out of the lab that are already reducing pollution.

Building Up to Net Zero Carbon Emissions

Buildings –the places where we live and work – are the single largest source of carbon pollution in cities. By 2040, the total emissions from the built environment is expected to double, driven by population and economic growth. Achieving a climate-safe future requires a radical transformation of these places: By 2030, all new buildings must be net zero carbon, and by 2050, all buildings must meet this standard. The challenge of achieving these goals will be considerable, especially in places where institutional, regulatory and supply-chain capacities are weak. But developers, architects, policymakers and innovators are working to make this future a reality. In this session, leaders from business, cities, states and regions will discuss how they plan to achieve the needed reductions in building emissions with bold policies, new technologies and investments in solutions.

Opening: Building Green in Iraq

Basima Abdulrahman, Founder & CEO, KESK Green Building Consulting

Video: The Future is Net Zero

Announcement

John Kilroy Jr., President and CEO, Kilroy Realty Corporation

Committing to Net Zero Emission Buildings

Moderator: Lisa Bate, Chair of the Board, World Green Building Council

Shirley Rodrigues, Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, City of London

Closing Remarks

Anita Arjundas, Managing Director, Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd

Unlocking Climate Action: Sustainable and Resilient Supply Chains

The land sector is responsible for more than a quarter of global emissions. The sector also supports the livelihoods of millions and can promote resilience to climate impacts. As forests are cut down, landscapes converted, and working lands degraded to provide the raw materials for kitchens and consumer products everywhere, carbon is released into the atmosphere and emissions are embedded into everything that people consume. In recognition of the scale and impact of these problems, many companies and governments have stepped up with ambitious supply chain commitments to end deforestation and land conversion. Yet despite these efforts, implementation has proven difficult. This session offers a way forward as companies work to end conversion in critical ecosystems and alongside local governments to realize their climate commitments. At the same time, many companies are beginning to understand the implications of climate change to their value chain and are searching for ways to build resilience to climate shocks. This session will also kick off a new cross-sector initiative to develop robust approaches for addressing physical climate risks in supply chains.

The Importance of Community Engagement in Supply Chains

Nina Gualinga, Co-founder and President Hakhu Amazon Foundation, Delegate of The Kichwa People of Sarayaku

Innovative Finance for Climate, Resilience, and Energy Access

There is an urgent global need to mobilize capital to achieve global climate and development goals. As jurisdictions and businesses step up their ambition to decarbonize, resources are needed to accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy. At the same time, millions of people globally still lack access to power, the life-blood of the modern economy and connectivity. In this session, innovative financiers will highlight new actions they are taking to ensure that resources are available for climate investments, resilience and energy access. They will highlight new commitments to fill key low carbon capital markets gaps and mobilize public-private partnerships to accelerate and scale private sector investment in the low carbon economy transition.

Opening

Rachel Kyte, Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy

Advancing Energy Access & Justice For All

Moderator: Rachel Kyte, Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14

High-Level Thematic Dialogues

9:00 – 10:30 a.m.

The Ocean-Climate Challenge

Healthy ocean ecosystems are among the greatest victims of climate change. They are also one of the most powerful tools we have to combat the devastating effects of climate change. Rising temperatures, increasing Arctic ice melts, acidification and oxygen depletion have led to the collapse of fisheries and severely threaten ecologically critical organisms like plankton and coral. Not only do marine plants produce 70 percent of the world’s oxygen, but oceans also play an important role in addressing climate change, sequestering 90 percent of the anthropogenic carbon produced to date. This session will introduce the Ocean Action Agenda: a set of solutions that explore the ocean’s crucial role in addressing climate change, support community efforts to adapt to new conditions, and promote opportunities that foster better, more durable climate solutions worldwide.

Sheila Watt-Cloutier, Activist, Former Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council

Hope for the Coast Campaign Launch

Secretary John Laird, California Natural Resources Agency

New Signees to the Ocean Acidification Alliance

Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii

Onward to a Better Future for Our Oceans

Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii

Building a More Just World through Climate Action

Climate change exacerbates race and class inequities that affect the prosperity, security and well-being of our families, neighborhoods and cities. The global effort to reduce global warming cannot succeed unless the most impacted communities have the ability to engage meaningfully in policy design and implementation, and represent their interests. This session will highlight grassroots mobilization efforts for equitable climate action, and the work being done to center climate policy around the needs of frontline communities. The session will feature leaders, organizers, and policy-makers from around the globe who are actively pursuing full inclusion in the political and policy-making process to achieve the goal of inclusive decarbonization, while improving health, strengthening our economies, and making our societies more just and equitable for generations to come.

Introduction

Vien Truong, CEO, Green For All

California’s Climate Justice Efforts

Xavier Becerra, Attorney General, State of California

Power Building towards Participatory Justice

Moderator: Vien Truong, CEO, Green For All

Panelists: Sheela Patel, CEO, Chair of Slum Dwellers International & Founding Director of the Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Center

Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

VIDEO: Solutions From the Ground Up

Producer: Green for All

Environmental Justice and Intersectional Approaches to Climate Action

Dr. Robert D. Bullard, Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy, Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs, Texas Southern University

The Fairest Cities

Moderator: Dr. Jesper Nygård, CEO, Realdania

Panelists: Mayor Mohammed Adjei Sowah, City of Accra

Mayor Jackie Biskupski, Salt Lake City

Artist-Activist Statement and Introduction

Favianna Rodriguez, Executive Director, CultureStrike

California Closing: Climate Justice for Farmworkers and Laborers

Dolores Huerta, Founder & President of the Dolores Huerta Foundation

Fast Action: Super-Pollutant Solutions to Cut the Rate of Warming in Half

In the short term, the rate of global warming is greatly impacted by the emissions of super-pollutants that remain in the atmosphere for a shorter time than carbon dioxide, but which trap much more heat. These pollutants include methane, black carbon and halocarbons such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). At present rates these gases, alongside carbon dioxide emissions, leave us with a 50 percent probability of crossing the threshold for dangerous planetary warming within the next 35 years. The rate of warming can be slowed by fast mitigation of these super-pollutants. This session will highlight the crucial role that reducing super-pollutants will play in the global response to climate change and the opportunities that cutting short-lived pollution presents now to achieve rapid results. Attendees will hear announcements of innovations and policy frameworks addressing super-pollutants and their potential to cut global warming in half by 2050 while delivering substantial benefits to health, food security and other community needs.

Health: Where Climate Change Hits Home

Climate change is killing us. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year between 2030 and 2050. As warming progresses, scientists and doctors expect further deaths and illnesses from extreme heat, poor air quality, increased exposure and vulnerability to pathogens, insecure food and water supplies, intensified natural disasters and declining mental health. Moreover, WHO estimates that 7 million people died from air pollution alone in 2016, much of which was the result of emissions from fossil fuel combustion. Climate action can provide immediate benefits to criteria air pollution, while staving off the worst health impacts of a warming world down the road. In this session, medical providers, public health experts, and elected officials on the frontlines of these growing threats will present data on the predictable costs to human health if global warming does not abate and discuss their efforts to build healthier communities through renewables deployment, electric transportation and city planning.

Welcome

Ovie Mughelli, Founder & CEO, Ovie Mughelli Foundation

Two Futures: Health in a Changing Climate

Trevor Houser, Partner, Rhodium Group

Here and Hurting Us: Climate Impacts Today

Moderator:Kathy Calvin, President & CEO, UN Foundation

Panelists:Eriel Deranger, Director, Indigenous Climate Action

Professor Zulfiqar Bhutta, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health The Aga Khan University

Dr. Maria Neira, Director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health, World Health Organization

To Act on Climate, Empower Women

Women are more likely to bear the heaviest burden in a changing climate. Studies show that 80 percent of people displaced by climate change around the globe are women. But women also hold unique power to mitigate its effects. Educating girls and support for family planning were ranked by Project Drawdown as two of the top ten most powerful levers for reducing emissions. Women also frequently control household purchasing power and electricity usage, set standards for waste disposal and make other key household choices. In agrarian communities, women’s knowledge and land stewardship practices are key to keeping emissions down. This session will discuss the impact of education and economic opportunity for women and girls on beating climate change and the clean energy solutions that women are leading.

Welcome

Dr. Mary Robinson, President of the Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate Justice and Former President of Ireland

1:15 p.m.

LUNCH

Friday Afternoon High-Level Sessions

These sessions highlight the action of leading companies, states and regions, and cities actively committing themselves to climate actions and racing towards a decarbonized future.

2:30 – 4:00 p.m.

Prepared for the Future We Create: Designing, Building and Financing Resilient Communities

The impacts of climate change are being felt today. As the world increases ambition toward decarbonization, it is imperative that governments, businesses and communities work smartly and simultaneously to reduce their risk from current and expected changes in local climate. In this session, hear from scientists, policymakers, elected officials and business leaders working to ensure that their communities are prepared for these impacts and unlocking new financing for these common-sense solutions, particularly in communities that have traditionally lacked access to capital and are being hit hardest today.

Master of Ceremony: Former Governor Bill Ritter, State of Colorado

Welcome

James Gore, District Supervisor, County of Sonoma, California

The Importance of Resilience

Henk Ovink, Special Envoy for International Water Affairs, Kingdom of the Netherlands

The Rt Hon Mark Field MP, Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, United Kingdom

The Ocean-Climate Challenge: New Approaches, Partnerships and Opportunities

Building on the Ocean Action Agenda introduced earlier in the day, in this session national and subnational leaders will gather to discuss the implementation of the Ocean Action Agenda from the global to the local scale, cementing the importance of blue carbon solutions, the need to ensure that marine ecosystems are healthy and resilient and the many ways in which climate change mitigation and adaptation can be accomplished hand-in-hand across the 70 percent of the earth that is ocean.

Welcome

Peter Thomson, UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean

Armchair discussion: Integrating oceans into the climate dialogue

Moderator: John Podesta, Founder and Director, Center for American Progress

Vladimir Ryabinin,Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and Assistant Director General of UNESCO

Threat Multiplier: Migration and Security in a Changing Climate

Climate change is now and will continue to escalate unstable situations into catastrophes and to profoundly impact global stability. Already, there is evidence that climate change is increasing the threat of hazards endemic to nearly every environment on earth, from flooding in river valleys and on coastal plains to drought in agricultural and populated areas, to fires in forests and other wilderness areas. The social and political impacts of an increasingly hazardous environment are already affecting global stability by increasing food and water insecurity, escalating migration, and intensifying conflicts. On this panel, security and human rights experts with international, national and subnational perspectives, along with mayors and ministers, will discuss the effects of climate change on global security, resource scarcity and migration.